

*Book a select 2023 Avalon Waterways Europe river cruise for 8 or more people to receive $1000 off per person on the cruise/land or cruise only price. Group Booking must be made, under deposit and discount applied between January 4, 2022 and June 30, 2023 for travel on select 2023 departures. Offer reliant on space availability and may be withdrawn at any time. Combinable with Welcome Back Credit, Peace of Mind Credit and Group Advantage Program. Cannot be used in conjunction with any air promotion. Promotional discount will apply to Groups of 8 or more who provide their Group Block Deposit within the promotion's booking dates and will apply to all individual members of the Group until the due date of the passenger names/non-refundable individual deposits. Applies to new group bookings only and will not be applied to pre-existing group bookings. Full cancellation penalties will apply. Additional restrictions may apply; see Travel Terms & Conditions for details. Offer applies to participating GFOB offices only. PRMW0932 PRMW0932
*Book a select 2023 Avalon Waterways Europe river cruise in order to waive the cabin single supplement fee on the cruise portion of your booking. There is a limited number of staterooms available for this promotion per departure. Applies to E, D, B, A & P cabin categories. Applies to new bookings only and will not be applied to pre-existing bookings. Offer reliant on space availability and may be withdrawn at any time. For Groups, selling more than one passenger in a group, with this promotion requires confirmation. Not combinable with other offers except the Welcome Back Credit. Full cancellation penalties will apply. Additional restrictions may apply; see Travel Terms & Conditions for details. May be withdrawn at any time. Offer available from participating GFOB offices only. SWPBA SWPBA
This amazing European vacation offers the best of both worlds: a land tour of Austria and Switzerland—two of Europe's most scenic countries—and a river cruise on the legendary Rhine River with stops in France, Germany, and Holland!See the true definitions of palaces and castles while visiting Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace—former home to the long-reigning Habsburg dynasty. In Switzerland, enjoy a visit to romantic Chillon Castle, a well-preserved, medieval castle on the shores of Lake Geneva. Pass through some of the world’s most spectacular scenery with a ride on the world-famous Glacier Express train. Travel first class with panoramic windows to admire the thundering waterfalls, impressive peaks, glacial ice fields, and tiny villages on your way to Zermatt, Switzerland. Other scenic highlights include a Danube cruise along the prettiest part of the river on your way to Salzburg; a private boat cruise on the fjord-lake in Lucerne; a scenic drive into the Swiss Engadine, considered the most beautiful mountain area in the world; and more. Some sightseeing highlights include the Basilika St. Michael in Mondsee (of The Sound of Music fame), a walk through the Old Town in Innsbruck, and the Lion Monument and Chapel Bridge in Lucerne.Embark your Avalon Suite Ship® in Basel, Switzerland, to begin your Rhine River cruise! Visit Breisach, Germany, the gateway to Germany’s Black Forest, and an area of unrivaled natural beauty, best known for Black Forest ham, cherry cake, and the cuckoo clock. In Strasbourg, France, be amazed by the red-sandstone Gothic cathedral with ancient murals and the fascinating astronomical clock. Stroll through the lovely La Petite France district with its quaint shops, delightful bistros, and peaceful waterfront promenade. Visit the ruins of Heidelberg’s castle, towering magnificently over the city, or sail to Mainz for a guided walk and visit the captivating Gutenberg Museum. Pass through the dramatic Rhine Gorge—the most beautiful view of the Rhine River where ancient castles stand on cliffs 400 feet above the water. In the charming wine town of Rüdesheim, visit the Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum, and explore Holland’s popular, modern capital of Amsterdam, with its world-famous museums, wealth of eateries, iconic architecture, and charming canals. See the treasures of the city on a canal cruise along the elegant grachten lined with homes dating back to the city’s “Golden Age.” A perfect ending to this fabulous land and river cruise adventure!
Port charges:
$210
Gratuities to Local Guides & Excursion Drivers are included.
Avalon offers the opportunity for solo travelers to sail with no single supplement (subject to availability).
Please call for single accommodation price. Triples not available.
Today's world has changed, but what remains certain is Avalon Waterways' commitment to guest safety, comfort and peace-of-mind while traveling with us. To that end, Avalon Waterways has established a worldwide Assurance program, with enhanced on-trip protocols and procedures, to ensure the health – and happiness – of guests throughout their travels with us.
It all starts with Avalon Waterways' Global Health & Safety Team, dedicated to ensuring that cleanliness of all operations exceeds today’s travel standards—from start to finish. The following areas address Avalon Waterways' commitment to providing a safe and clean environment for guests.
WELCOME ABOARD
New embarkation procedures to offer guests a safe start to their journey, including:
FRESH AIR, INSIDE AND OUT:
In addition to Avalon Waterways' Open-Air staterooms, the air in the ships is not circulated between staterooms; only within an individual stateroom and mixed with fresh, outside air.
BLENDING CULTURAL PROXIMITY WITH SOCIAL DISTANCE:
New social distancing guidelines for guests throughout their Avalon cruise include:
NEW TECHNOLOGY TO ENSURE CLEANLINESS:
TOUCHING HEARTS, NOT HANDS:
Reducing risk with hands-free service, including:
COMMITMENT TO THE CLEANEST SHIPS:
Enhanced cleaning procedures throughout each ship, including these additional steps that go above-and-beyond Avalon’s already strict procedures:
FOCUS ON CREW HEALTH:
Ensuring a healthy crew, including:
This was our first river cruise. The ship was nice and the staff exceptional. We were told that river cruises are more about the included tours than the ship. That was clearly true. There isn't much to do on the ship other than eat and sleep. I thought the tours were just okay. The guides were great, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, but they were mostly walking to take pictures. We paid for several optional tours and based on feedback from other cruisers our tours were more interesting than theirs. Overall I think ocean cruising may be a better fit for us.
I'm very glad I chose Avalon. They will be my first choice in the future. Great crew and staff, nice tours, great food, wonderful ship.
The Avalon staff were very professional and courteous. The trip was full of adventure and a packed itinerary. The ship was nice but if I were to book another river cruise I would pick the top floor and closer to the front to avoid the noise from the engines. The rooms were spacious and I loved the balcony doors that opened up. And the food was delicious!
Basically a great trip but a few exceptions. Some of the excursions (Black Forest Cuckoo Clock and Heideberg Castle) had very long bus rides for a somewhat short visit to the site,. The Cuckoo Clock stop was just a tourist trap store with many clocks. Most of the Local Guides were great except one at Heidelberg Castle named Charlotte, who had the Gentle Walker Group. SHe stood in one place in the hot sun and talked talked talked, then ran to the next spot leaving her group in the dust. The "First Class High Speed Train" was neither first class or high speed. Tight seating, no food and long stops at stations. Our guide in LucerneUrsula was a delight! Lake Como for 3 nights was great to have free time to do what you pleased. Don't miss the boat tour and stop in Belagio!
Tulip Time lead one to believe there would be more experiences with gardens than Keukenhof. That garden was spectacular, but was the only time we saw tulips or other spring blooms. Could have used more time in Amsterdam to tour the old section by foot as well as the cruise through the canal. That cruise was very good by the way. The tour guides were great. They had a vast knowledge of the area we were touring and very pleasant. Berthe, Lupii and Willem in particular were very good guides.
WE were happy with our river cruise and the staff was very attentive.
Wonderful crew, good food and wine, nice boat size (164 passengers), good tours with informative, pleasant guides. Staterooms a little small but necessary for the narrow river boats, but nicely appointed, comfortable beds and very clean.
Avalon Vista is a nice ship. The cabins are well designed with storage and stowaway conveniences to feel it bigger than the square footage. The food variety could be better (as compared to AMA WATERWAYS and Viking River cruises for the dinners (food was somewhat bland and needs more international flavors!). The staff was wonderful and extra tour guides knowledgeable with excellent communication skills.
I would highly recommend this River Cruise to everyone. Everything from the ship staff, the accommodations, entertainment, shore tours and meals were high class and top notch. The variety of food offered was very good and plentiful. All the shore tours were wonderful and informative by the expert and friendly tour guides. A wonderful experience.
More entertainment needed in the evening on board ship.
Everything went very smoothly. As changes became a possibility, due to low water levels, we were kept informed. They did everything g they could to ensure our trip was pleasant and met our expectations.
Food and staff were excellent. Bed was very comfortable and room was sufficiently spacious. On the last day, we were forced o spend our last night in a hotel due to water levels, which is understandable. However, there were no food choices at the hotel dinner.
WiFi issues Lack of water in Danube above Passau- Avalon did compensate us for this problem. Vlad was great as the cruise director. Tour guides very informative. Hotels wonderful.
Trip was fantastic. Exceeded our expectations!!
The Intercontinental in Budapest was wonderful - location and comfort. The river cruise was wonderful with high quality entertainment, food and staff. I especially enjoyed hearing about the locks. My only complaint is the hotel Andel in Prague. This location was not acceptable even though a shuttle was provided. We understood that some other Avalon travelers were staying at the Intercontinental in Prague and that was a much better location. The Andel was clean, but after arrival in the AM and being on a walking tour for a few hours, our luggage had not arrived in our room. We did not feel comfortable with it sitting (not secured) in the lobby next to the door. There was no orientation to the room. This hotel seemed to be more for business travelers. We traveled with friends who highly recommended Affordable Tours and they, as we, were very disappointed with our stay in Prague. This made for a less than desirable end to an otherwise great trip. I can't imagine that you have used this Hotel in the past.
The cruise was superb. Avalon Waterways cruise director was the perfect host and the staff was most attentive to the passengers. The Danube river experience was breathtakingly beautiful. The before and after trips to Budapest and Prague, also hosted by our cruise director, were memorable.
Great trip. I have to give it a 10 plus. Service, food and accommodations on the ship was a 10.
Our travel consultant at Affordale Tours was an excellent travel consultant, answered all of our questions, e-mails, and telephone calls. She was very detail-oriented. The accommodations on board the ship were amazing, and the excursions were informative, historical and fun. We had excellent local tour guides. Our cruise director was amazing. I have never seen a woman work so hard to accommodate so many different personalities and she did it with a smile on her face.
Avalon was terrific and the cruise was fabulous. I want to particularly note that the wait staff, the cabin steward and, the Cruise Director were outstanding in their service.
This Danube River Cruise was absolutely fabulous in every respect. The stateroom accommodations on board the Vista were premier. The entire boat was immaculate and the crew were the friendliest and most helpful I have ever experienced while at a vacation facility. My wife and I took almost every included as well as optional tour and we felt at the end of the vacation, each tour we took was better than the previous one and considering the first one was perfect. One can understand the level of appreciation my wife and I felt at the end of the 12 days. The guides were well informed and very entertaining and I felt the experience was worth every penny spent. Avalon River Cruises and Affordable Tours (specifically my travel consultant) are simply outstanding and have earned my travel loyalty!
Avalon exceeded our expectations! Clean, well maintained and well appointed ship. The staff was outstanding! I was afflicted with laryngitis for the duration of this cruise and the staff was so kind!
this is our fourth river cruise with avalon waterways and they always exceed our expectations
Great river cruise experience. Absolutely fantastic experience.
The trip was wonderful! I would certainly go on another river cruise.
The ship was very nice, with plenty of room in our cabin and in the bath. The staff members were extremely courteous and efficient. Excellent food and very good guides at the various places we visited.
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Avalon did a good job on most fronts. Staff, food and accommodations were all fine. Although they appeared to have some coordination issues with the hotel regarding baggage handling and definitely needed to improve traveler communication aboard the ship. Their reliance on the AvalonGo application for communication was misplaced since the wifi aboard ship worked only intermittently, leaving passengers to wonder about event times and procedures. The ship broke down near the end of the voyage, which suggested that the downtime during covid might have been used more effectively to maintain the propulsion system. Nightly briefings were helpful, but long-winded and repetitious.